Electronic razor



Nov. 25, 1969 J. H. CHURCH 3,480,848

ELECTRONIC RAZOR Original Filed Jan. 4, 1966 United States Patent3,480,848 ELECTRONIC RAZOR Joseph H. Church, Foster, R1.

(55 W. 42nd St., Room 1545, New York, N.Y. 10036) Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 518,628, Jan. 4, 1966. This application Mar. 4,1969, Ser. No. 804,388 Int. Cl. H02k 33/16 US. Cl. 318128 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electric razor comprising a blade assemblyincluding a. cutting blade, a polarizable armature secured to theassembly, a permanent magnet adapted to polarize the armature, andelectromagnet means adapted to have its polarity changed in anoscillating fashion whereby it oscillates the armature and bladeassembly back and forth over a cutting path.

This case is a continuation of Ser. No. 518,628, filed Jan. 4, 1966, nowabandoned.

This invention relates to an improved shaving instrument of thevibrating blade type which is energized by a self-contained battery andan oscillating electronic circuit which is encased within the plastichandle of the instrument.

It is well known in the prior art that if a razor blade while in use iscaused to vibrate by means which give the blade a slight reciprocatingmotion in a direction parallel to the edge of the blade, a verysignificant improvement in the performance of the blade will beobserved. The blade will glide over the skin more smoothly and withreduced resistance; the need for pressure will be eliminated, as willthe necessity of going over any given area a second time. Dullness ofthe blade will be less noticeabe and effective blade life will belengthened several fold.

Shaving instruments have been patented and have been manufactured andmarketed in the past taking advantage of these observations. Theseinstruments have not been entirely satisfactory for reasons mostlyrelating to the motive power available and to the lack of a satisfactorylinkage between the motive power and the blade. A razor for wet shavingshould be entirely impervious to water in order to facilitate cleaning.A mechanical connection between the blade and the handle, the use of anelectromechanical vibrator, or the employment of a mechanism which mustbe supplied with high line voltage through a cord, all offer a number ofpractical difficulties with respect to the watertightness requirement.Vibrating blade instruments have also been marketed which use aneccentric rotating weight rotated by means of a spring and a gear train.In addition to the problem of watertightness, these instruments consumemore power than is necessar to impart the required motion to the blade.

It is an object of this invention to describe an improve shavinginstrument of the vibrating blade type in which the essential componentsare completely encased in plastic and impervious to water, and in whichthere is no mechanical linkage between the motive means and the blade.

Referring now to the drawings accompanying this application, FIGURE 1shows a cross-section of the plastic handle near the head where theblade holder is attached, with the plastic cut away so the working partsmay be viewed.

FIGURE 2 shows an alternative design of the electromagnetic assemblywhich provides the motive power to the blade.

FIGURE 3 shows the circuit diagram of one type of electronic oscillatorcircuit which may be encased in the 3,480,848 Patented Nov. 25, 1969plastic handle with all necessary components, to supply the necessaryalternating current required to energize the electromagnetic assembly.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, the essential parts of the instrumentcomprise a conventional type of double edge razor blade 1 which is heldcompressed between a blade mount 2 and a blade clamp 3. The blade mountis secured by rivets at each end to two leaf springs 4. These springsare in turn secured to a bracket 5 which is secured to the handle byconventional means. The arrangement of the springs gives substantialrigidity to the assembly in a vertical direction, but permits a slightmotion of the blade, assembly in the direction of the blade edge withrespect to the bracket and the handle. The head of the handle 6 is ofmolded resin.

Imbedded in the head of the handle is an electromagnetic assembly whichcomprises two windings 7 and 8 and two pole pieces 9 and 10 whichproject from the head of the handle in close proximity to the blademount 2. Between the two pole pieces is an armature of soft iron 11which is secured to and made a part of the blade mount 2. Also imbeddedin the handle and extending from the center of the magnetic core whichconnects the two pole pieces 9 and 10 to a point proximate to the centerof the armature 11 is a permanent polarizing magnet 12a.

The operation of the above described polarized electromagnetic drivingassembly is as follows: The flux generated by the permanent magnet 12apasses through the armature 11 and is more or less equally dividedbetween the pole pieces 9 and 10. The direction of the flux causes thetwo ends of the armature to assume the same polarity, and the two polepieces 9 and 10 also have the same polarity. When a current is passedthrough the windings 7 and 8 the magnetomotive force which is thusgenerated will cause an increase in the flux through one of the polepieces 9 and 10 and a decrease in the flux through the other. Themagnetic force thus generated will cause the armature 11 to move towardone of the two pole pieces. Should a current of opposite direction beapplied to windings 7 and 8 the armature will be caused to move towardthe opposite pole piece. It will be evident that with this arrangementwhen an alternating electric current is introduced into the windings 7and 8 that the armature 11 will be caused to vibrate between the twopoles and will impart a vibratory motion to the blade 1 in the directionof its edge.

An alternative electromagnetic assembly utilising a differentpolarization arrangement is shown in FIGURE 2. In this drawing only theelectromagnetic driving assembly is shown, with the armature 12 securedto and made a part of the blade mount 13. The armature is polarized bymeans of the flux induced from a permanent magnet 14 which is a part ofthe magnetic circuit connecting the two pole pieces 15 and 16. Themethod of polarization causes the two pole pieces to assume oppositepolarity, and the two ends of the soft iron armature 12 will also haveopposite polarity. The current is supplied to a single winding on a softiron core at the center of the assembly, so that the flux through thetwo pole pieces 15 and 16 will be strengthened or weakened depending onthe direction of the flux generated through the core 17 by the winding18.

It will also be evident that the above arrangement may be employed bysubstituting a soft iron yoke for the permanent magnet 14 and by using apermanent magnet as the armature 12.

FIGURE 3 shows one type of electronic oscillator circuit which may beencased in the handle of the instrument with all necessary components.The transistorized pushpull circuit provides an efiicient means forgenerating the alternating current required to operate the razor. Thecircuit comprises a battery 19, two transistors 20 and 21, threeresistors and two capacitors. The Winding assembly 22 which provides thefeedback to the transistors may be incorporated in the windings 7 and 8and thus serve to drive the pole pieces directly. The circuit describedis straightforward, and the operation of the circuit and the function ofits components will be evident to those skilled in the art, and for thisreason will not be described in detail.

What is claimed is:

1. A shaving instrument comprising an edge blade,

a blade mount for carrying and maintaining the position of said blade,

a handle for manipulating said instrument,

means for securing said blade mount to said handle so that said mountshall be reciprocal with respect to said handle in a direction parallelto the edge of said blade,

a polarizable soft iron armature secured to said blade mount,

a generally U-shaped magnetic core including two pole pieces spacedapart with a gap between them and having said polarizable armaturepositioned in said gap,

a permanent magnet extending from the center of said magnetic core to aposition near the center of said armature, whereby both ends of saidsoft iron armature are polarized to the same magnetic polarity, and

means coupled to said U-shaped magnetic core for generating and applyingan alternating magnetic flux thereto and alternately changing thepolarity of said pole pieces whereby said armature and said blade mountand said blade oscillate back and forth over a path of travel 2. Ashaving instrument as described in claim 1 wherein said means forgenerating said alternating magnetic flux comprises a plurality ofwindings mounted on said U-shaped magnetic core, said windings beingcoupled to and energized by a semi-conductor oscillator circuit mountedwithin the said handle for manipulating said instrument.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,146,643 2/ 1939 Murphy 3l0-29X. 2,517,214 8/1950 Kent 3102.8 2,530,759 11/1950 Collins et al. 310-29XR 2,740,057 3/ 1956 Blumenstock et al. 310-29 2,759,114 8/1956 Rolli etal. 310-29 2,895,064 7/1959 Hofi et al 310-29 3,268,786 8/1966 Reich318--132 XR MILTON O. H IRSH-FIELD, Primary Examiner D. F. DUGGAN,Assistant Examiner US. 01. X.R. 3o 310 29

